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Turaga Cyhuku looked around the dark circular chamber. Surrounded by various crystal statues of Toa, he stared at the one of his greatest friend, Toa Sah Ferohn, for a long period of time and sighed.The Turaga of Ceronox Nui had held storytelling sessions here for many years and this place was usually full of Matoran talking. It was never so empty being typically awash with Matoran waiting to hear stories of the past, though he wasn't alone as Toa Zahaku of Rahi Life, Toa Flengu of Air, and Toa Narmok of Ice sat near the door talking to their "guest", a cloaked being whose face was hidden by a hood. Toa Zahaku looked up at the Turaga and noticed that he was trying to listen in on their conversation. The frowning Toa looked back to his teammates and began his discussion with them again once the Turaga appeared to rise and walk away, however unnoticed the old Turaga began edging closer to the other, when..."Turaga! Can we here more stories?" shouted a young Matoran of Air whom Cyhuku had never seen before. It was only then that he realized the Matoran were gathering outside."What? Oh yes, yes, do come in. I had forgotten about that," he said as the Matoran took their seats."Now what story would you like to hear? One about my own adventures as a Toa Sāh? Or one about our current friends and protectors?"The Matoran seemed to have their answer ready before he had even got the question out because they shouted almost instantly that the wanted to hear a story about Narmok, Zahaku, Flengu and their team. Again."Oh" said the Turaga, quite obviously disappointed. "Okay, but maybe next time we can hear a different type of story?" he laughed.Activating his staff, the crystal statue of Toa Flengu sprang to life, hoisting its living counterpart up by the ankle. As everybody in the room laughed at the leader of the Toa, Cyhuku said "Now I believe our story begins with our good friend, Flengu..."Review

~Chapter One~

The island of Hytrax, 40,000 Years before the Great Cataclysm:

Flengu, Toa Hytrax of Air stood in his hut, bored as usual. He was a fun-loving Toa, which meant unless he had something interesting to do, he would go and annoy the Turaga in their hut with jokes at their expense. Or would go to the Vortixx's village where he would get them to make him something interesting, which is something they would always do because the one time they didn't, Flengu smashed his axe through their power supply before telling them he would be back the next day.Flengu was currently banned from going to either village by his leader Vahaki, because they had an important mission or something like that. Watching him from the other side of the hut was Luwaro, a Toa of Darkness who had become slightly paranoid about Skakdi because when he was a Matoran, he was viciously attacked by a group of them during the Hytrax Civil War. Luwaro was throwing his knives into the dirt before picking them back up and doing it all over again. He was obviously as bored as Flengu. Then a red and black armoured Toa of Fire came in."Hello, Vahaki wants to see us now," Tamek said excitedly."What happened to your Armour? Its' usually Red and Silver," Luwaro asked curiously."Upgrade," was the only reply.The Toa left their hut to where the rest of the Toa Hytrax were assembled in front of Vahaki and the Rakile Commander, Komodro. Tamek smiled at the young Rakile who stared at him suspiciously before turning to the others and starting."Okay, we have been informed about missing miners and we’ve been ordered to go look for them, bring them back up to the surface if they are alive, and make sure this does not happen again. A simple mission and you could handle it yourselves easily, but the Turaga think it would be best if we come as well just in case," he said, waving his hand at a group of Rakile getting ready for battle. "Any questions?" When no reply came, Komodro left to go talk with his Rakile.The Toa gathered some gear left out for them and set off to a cliffside where they would find easy access to the cave network beneath the island. It was a long and tiring walk and once again, Flengu grew bored and started to notice things he hadn’t noticed before. Luwaro became edgy and kept two of his knives in his hands, at the ready. He is becoming more paranoid every day, thought Flengu.Tamek was completely relaxed; he hadn’t even brought his Inferno Flail with him. He had a new sword and a small dagger with him now. In addition to his armour, his eyes also seemed darker as well, more intimidating. They were usually a pinkish colour, but were now a dark red. But how could that have happened? That’s strange.The others seemed perfectly normal. Its' probably just my imagination, forget it. As they reached the entrance to the cave network, Vahaki stopped to talk with the Team."Now, this is what we are going to do, Nakora and Sirof will go in first with Tamek and myself. Flengu, Turax, and Luwaro will wait here until the Rakile get here. We won’t be long, we're just checking how this part of the cave is holding up. I'd hate for it to collapse on us all when we're in there!" he laughed.As Sirof and Nakora walked through the opening, a wall of darkness blocked the exit for the Toa on the inside. Drawing his axe, Flengu turned to the Toa of Darkness but Luwaro was just as surprised as the Toa of Air was. Luwaro brandished his twin Deathbringers as well, looking for the source. Then Vahaki walked to the wall and examined it."It’s black Fire, not Darkness," he shouted in surprise."Now I wonder who that was?" said Tamek sarcastically as the remaining toa turned to look at him. "Black Fire you say? That’s very strange don’t you think?""What the Karzahni you playing at?" yelled Turax grabbing the Toa of Fire."Nothing. I’m not playing. I’m just standing here talking to you and holding up a wall of fire, which is strangely black." Tamek smiled."Tell me what's going on or I'll smash you into the ground until you do!""Alright, you got me. I need to complete my destiny, it includes some of you and you will help me when the time comes. Some of you have already completed yours," He indicated Turax and Vahaki. "But even though I don’t need you nor Sirof for that matter, some of you will be allowed to live, as your useful." He paused as sounds of battle were heard from inside the cave where Nakora and Sirof were. Turax slackened his grip on Tamek. "But some of you I have no need for at all and you will die."Turax fell to the ground, Tamek's knife stuck in his chest, his heartlight faltering. Then sword in hand, Tamek lunged at Luwaro before the others had time to realise what had happened. Quickly Flengu gathered his senses and hit Tamek with the side of his Tornado Axe. Grunting in pain, Tamek fell, rolled over, and blasted a ball of flame into Flengu, sending him flying against a nearby tree. Tamek then turned back to Luwaro as Vahaki ran towards the fallen Toa of Air."What are you doing?" Flengu yelled. "Help him!"Vahaki looked at the fight thoughtfully and then said, "Luwaro can handle himself for now, are you good here?""Sure, but I don’t think I can stand yet though.""Right, then I’m going to see if I can do anything for Turax," he quickly said, before running off to aid the downed Toa of Energy.Luwaro was putting up a good fight against the insane Toa of Fire. One of his throwing knives was stuck in Tamek's left leg but one of his Deathbringers lay near the edge of the Cliffside. Luwaro managed to knock Tamek off his feet again and rushed to retrieve his weapon. Tamek recovered in lightning quick speed and ran toward the Toa of Darkness. Luwaro saw this out of the corner of his mask and blocked his sword swing. Tamek lifted his leg up and kicked Luwaro off the edge.Ripping the knife out of his leg, Tamek threw it at Vahaki who was trying to relieve Turax's pain. A scream echoed off the cliffside and Flengu rose to see Turax, now with Luwaro's knife in his neck, dead. Vahaki lifted his blade and raced towards Flengu."Come on! Were getting out of here, get to the Rakile, they'll help u-"He didn’t get any further. Vahaki fell over, engulfed in the black fire that Tamek was now creating. Screaming in pain he managed to stand up again. He turned towards Flengu before he managed to say with great difficulty, "Go!""No! I’m helping you.""I said Go!" was the reply, this time with a hint of anger in his pained voice.Then the burning Vahaki raced at the smirking Tamek who obviously wasn’t anticipating this. Realizing he was still standing next to the edge, he tried to get out of the way, but Vahaki tackled him over the edge, falling down the cliff himself in the process.Flengu walked towards the precipice cautiously and when he reached the edge he looked over. Tamek had managed grab ahold of a piece of rock jutting out of the cliffside, his weapon though had fallen down to the rocks below. Flengu reached down and grabbed Tamek's wrist."I’m taking you to the Rakile, but only because I can't kill you," Flengu said."Ahh, the Code. Wouldn’t want to break that, now would you?" Tamek laughed."No, it’s because you're... were my friend.""Well, I'm not climbing up, so I'll help you out. Sound good?""What?" Flengu asked as the Rakile came into view down the trail.Tamek hand reached for and held Flengu's other wrist. At first Flengu tried to pull him up, but stopped as him arms started to burn. Tamek smiled widely as Flengu realized what he meant. Then there was a searing pain that forced him to pull back, letting go. Tamek fell with the grin still etched across his face, plummeting without a noise."Mind telling us what that was about?" Flengu turned. Komodro was standing there with his legion."Tamek went insane. He killed Turax, Luwaro, and Vahaki. I don’t know what happened to Sirof or Nakora, there probably dead too. And those miners, I wouldn’t go looking for them if I were you. That was obviously a trick. I... I need to get out of here.""Then go, but if I find out what happened here was you, I'll personally hunt you down and kill you."Flengu turned and teleported down to the base of the cliff. Looking around, he noticed something missing. Bodies? Tamek, Luwaro, and Vahaki were not down here. The only thing he saw was a stone tablet.Picking it up, he read it out loud: "See you soon, Flengu."Review

Zerahk walked down a dark hallway in the main base of the Brotherhood of Makuta. He was part of Project: Shadow Warrior, the goal of which was to discover which species would best make the ultimate army for the Brotherhood by kidnapping one of every sapient species and experimenting upon them. On either side of him were the Makuta Antroz and Ferofax. Alongside the Makuta Desiron and Steeliroc, the two had altered Zerahk's frame, given him powerful abilities, and trained him to use. Antroz stopped at a door."What is it?" asked Ferofax impatiently."Heard something," Antroz muttered back.He opened the door slowly and cautiously walked in, followed by Zerahk and Ferofax. On the floor was the body -- or what left of the body -- of Desiron. Standing above it was Steeliroc, ripping it apart with massive claws while laughing insanely. Zerahk wondered why only Antroz had heard it? Rahkshi were posted around the room, all looking at their leader.Antroz called out Steeliroc's name, but the only reply he got was the Rahkshi turning to the newcomers and attacking. Almost instantly, a Rahkshi of Shattering burst Ferofax’s armour into pieces and the Makuta's essence was finished off by a Rahkshi of Electricity. Antroz gave up trying to control them and simply teleported away. Zerahk turned to get away but the door had disappeared and he was backed into a corner. Steeliroc finally had stopped destroying the remnants of Desiron's armour and walked up to Zerahk. He raised his claws, whispered something that Zerahk could not hear, then brought them down upon him.

* * *

Zerahk woke up, his head throbbing. He tried to rub his face but realized he was bound to a table. Looking around he saw that he was in a laboratory with Desiron and Steeliroc over at a desk discussing something."Where are Antroz and Ferofax?" asked ZerahkDesiron looked up and smiled "Glad to see you're up. They've gone out to train another Shadow Warrior who like you has a lot of potential. Now, how are you feeling?""I..." Zerahk's pain seemed to disappear and he was overcome with feelings of anger "...we're fine."Desiron's smile instantly vanished. "Steeliroc, get Antroz and Ferofax. We have a problem. Failure."Steeliroc nodded and sprinted from the room. The word "failure" echoed in his mind over and over again. He knew what happened to all the other "failures", they were executed by Steeliroc. Screaming, Zerahk tore off his bindings and jumped from the table. Desiron looked around for his weapon before realizing Steeliroc had taken it."Karzhani!" he cursed. "Look Zerahk, calm down."Zerahk screamed, "Calm down, oh well we're all about to die, let's just all be relaxed about it!""There's a chance that might not happen," Desiron lied. "We can fix this.""Can you? Can you fix us? All of us?"Angered, Desiron gave up. His gauntlets began to cackle with energy. "Yes, by killing you."Zerahk laughed before throwing a ball of Shadow at the Makuta that sent him flying through several vats of viruses before landing on a table filled with vials of Energized Protodermis."Go to blazes!" Zerahk spat as Desiron disintegrated before his eyes.Antroz, Ferofax, Steeliroc and a Fironian ran into the room and looked on as Zerahk screamed and disappeared. When he could see again, Zerahk was in a massive dark chamber. Weapons of all sorts decorated the walls around him. At the end of the room was a throne with a sleeping Skakdi wearing decorative golden armour and a cloak sitting on it. His anger had died down and was replaced with the throbbing pain again. Attempting to teleport out, he found it impossible and decided to find another way out. When he reached the massive door at the other end, it opened and before he could react he was on the floor with a red and black armoured Toa standing above him with a sword pointing at his face. The sword bust into flames and then Zerahk could see his mask. It was a shape that Antroz occasionally shape-shifted his Kanohi Jutlin into."Antroz?" Zerahk asked fearfully.The Toa put a hand to his mask before replying "No, but I see why you would think so."Zerahk was slightly relieved but could still sense the danger he was in, "Then who are you?"The Toa laughed darkly before replying "Why should I bother tell you, when I should be demanding you to tell me who you are? What is your name?""Zerahk.""Guards!" The Fire Toa waited until two other Toa walked in to the chamber. "Take my friend Zerahk here down to the holding cells."Review

Ferxes stood outside Turaga Artok's personal chambers with a small Le-Matoran named Veekah. They had been waiting for hours as an old teammate from Artok's Toa days suddenly decided to show up."How long you think they’re goin' to be?" asked Veekah. He received no reply "Hey Ferxes, you listenin'?""Will you shut up? I don’t want you talking to me.""I said I was sorry..." he said sulkily.Then a new, cheerful voice said, "Well maybe you should forgive him Ferxes."Ferxes glared at the newcomer, a Toa of Stone, until his smile faltered. "Well.... Turaga Artok would like to see you now."Entering the small office chamber, Artok turned to them and said in his usual sarcastic tone, "So... What makes a Matoran of Anger want to attack a Matoran of Air?"Ferxes was just silent; the Turaga of Iron then simply tapped his Kanohi Suletu and said, "If you don't tell me, I will find out myself."Again Ferxes said nothing, and he then felt the gentle intrusion of his mind, a force probing his memories and thoughts. Then it abruptly stopped and Artok suddenly looked concerned."Veekah, I think we should do this another time. Please leave.""But Turag-" Veekah began but he was interrupted."A fight between two Matoran is irrelevant next to what I have seen. Now please leave."Veekah shot Ferxes a repulsed look before running from the chamber. Artok continued, "Now Ferxes. Tell me about these visions you have been having lately.""Umm... Turaga, I’d prefer to call them nightmares. Visions imply I am seeing the future," Ferxes said uncomfortably."Ahh, but I believe you are in fact seeing the future. Now tell us what it is you see," Artok replied."It’s always the same, there is a large Rahi that I’ve never seen before and it is walking through the village. And there are bodies everywhere and it’s not just Matoran but also Rahi, Visorak, and Rahkshi parts. It comes across a few barely living Visorak and brutally kills them before it tries to leave the village. There a Toa of Air wearing gold armour confronts it and the creature immediately attacks. They fight for a long time before the Toa uses his Kanohi to teleport away. After that, a Toa of Stone arrives with a.... ‘Rakile’ I believe they are called, and the creature obeys them. Then they all leave on a boat and I wake up after that point all the time.""And do you recognize these Toa?""Not the Toa of Air, but the Toa of Stone looks exactly like him," Ferxes said, pointing to Artok's old friend.Both looked the least bit surprised at this, and then Artok said, "Roaka, who is the other Shadows of the Sword operative? And how did the Shadows know this was going to happen?"Roaka frowned before saying, "I’m impressed Artok, Where did you learn about that?""I know a lot about your organization. I met a member before I became a Turaga." then for the second time, he tapped his Suletu."Well, to be honest, I actually don’t know who the other agent his. He is one of the ‘Shadow Assassins’ as we regular members call them. They are the enforcers for "The Sword", elite warriors, and some of the most lethal beings in this Universe. As for your other question… I don’t know, the Rakile tracked me down personally to take me on this mission. He would know, but he went off to look for some artifact called the ‘Farcron Sword’... Ever heard of it?""I’ve heard the rumours, a sword that a Rakile named Farcron wielded but he disappeared. Apparently it has strange and powerful abilities. Though it doesn’t exist, not on this island anyway and...." Artok trailed off as he was interrupted."Turaga? Can I go now?" asked an annoyed Ferxes."Ferxes! I apologize, I had forgotten you while you sit right in front of me." He grinned at Ferxes as if was all a big joke. Then he became serious again, "We should gather the Matoran and get them to safety seeing that Roaka and his friend are already here, it’s only a matter of time until the Visorak get here too."Screams were heard from outside, and as they left the chamber a whole section of the protective wall surrounding the village collapsed. Rahkshi poured through as Visorak came over the remaining walls and Guardsmen instantly lost all their courage and fled."How did they get here without us even noticing?" said Roaka angrily, while unsheathing a war hammer. He then pulled out a small devise and shouted "Komodro! They’re here!"Everywhere was panic as Matoran pushed, shoved, and fought with each other to try and get to the fortified cave network at the cliff side. Roaka crushed and pummeled countless Rahkshi that attempted to pass him, while the Visorak stalked their Matoran prey from above the streets, occasionally pouncing on those who fell behind. The Cu-Matoran Ferxes and the young Le-Matoran Veekah were assisting Turaga Artok to safety. Up ahead a Ta-Matoran tripped over a discarded spear, as Veekah sprinted to help him up, something caught Ferxes leg and he fell back. He turned around and looked into a Visorak's cold eyes. Its’ venom already working through his body, the Visorak went to finish him off when a spear dug deep into its’ head. It took several steps back and was crushed beneath Roaka's hammer."Nice throw Veekah!" shouted the Toa of Stone as the Ta-Matoran began aiding Artok into the fortified cave system."Guess that makes us even?" asked Veekah. He looked embarrassed at saving Ferxes’ life.Ferxes attempted to smile as he was helped to his feet. He didn’t know what would happen to him now. He stumbled into the cave and towards the first defense, a large pool of Energized Protodermis, spanned by a bridge, which could be retracted once the Matoran were all across. As Roaka was closing the door, Ferxes felt numb, tired, and his vision was blurring. He stumbled forward and fell into the pool, where the darkness consumed him.Review

"What do you mean, ‘destroyed’?" Flengu asked angrily."Well, a group of Visorak that were not under Brotherhood command have attacked the village. As soon as word reached us, I took my personal troop of Rahkshi to put an end to this tragic event, as unfortunately Ferofax was unable to respond. Luckily though, some Matoran have survived and are either hiding in the fortified cave network that is situated in the rock face at the north end of the village, or have... well... been mutated..." answered Makuta Steeliroc."I thought all the Visorak were under Brotherhood control?""Ahh, it would seem we either have a rogue agent and I will dedicate myself to finding them and making them pay, or the Visorak were acting on their own. Both scenarios are somewhat worrisome, but it will be dealt with immediately." The Makuta smiled coldly."Well Steeliroc, not exactly my style, but I wish you luck with that. Now, I really should get to Nurane Nui." The Toa of Air nodded at the Makuta and walked towards the edge of the ship."Of course, but I have left a large group of Rahkshi to hunt down any remaining Visorak, just in case my earlier concerns about them acting on their own are true." The Makuta handed Flengu a small tablet. "Give this to the Rahkshi's commander; he will make sure you do not come to harm. I hope to see you again in the future."Flengu nodded, took the tablet, and focused on the island in the distance, using his Kanohi Kaulsi to teleport there. Flengu landed roughly on the beach of Nurane Nui. Regaining his balance, he looked around at the charred remains of the once magnificent wall that protected the village, and sighed before heading toward it.

* * *

Zerahk stood outside the gatehouse of the southern entrance to the Dome of Nurane Nui, watching some of his mechanical Rahkshi dispose of the remains of their Brotherhood of Makuta counterparts and the Vortixx commanding them, while musing about his past.After his imprisonment by the Shadows of the Sword, Toa Tamek, the Dark Toa of Fire had come to his cell with a Toa of Darkness and one of Zerahk's fellow Rakile. Tamek had offered him a place in their organization. Knowing the alternative, he accepted, and Tamek left. Zerahk was quickly filled-in by the Toa, whose name remained a mystery, in terms of what the organization did, as well as their ultimate goal. It turned out that he, and the other Rakile, Komodro, were not there by choice either, but rather because they were forced to join the corrupt organization. And there were a few other members in the same position.Soon after, when Tamek had taken him on a mission to evaluate his skills, Zerahk's evil-half of his split personality had come through. Insane, vicious, and power hungry, Zerahk's powers also seemed to amplify when his "other" was in control. Zerahk alone had annihilated every member of the militia they were hunting down. Tamek was absolutely thrilled about this and soon ordered other Toa to train him in the use of his powers. He also had Komodro help refine Zerahk's willpower, in order to better keep this "other" in check.A growl from one of the Rahkshi took him out of his reminiscences and Zerahk looked up. A Toa of Air wearing golden armour and wielding a massive axe was charging towards them. Zerahk waved a hand to stop the Rahkshi from attacking as the Toa slowed once he got closer."Who are you and what are you doing here?" demanded Zerahk."My name is Flengu." The Toa looked at the Rahkshi. "Here, Makuta Steeliroc told me to give this to you," he said as he handed over a small stone tablet.Zerahk took the tablet and quickly read it. Smiling, he said "Ahh, my apologies. Go ahead, I will send word out, no Rahkshi will attack you. They are really just here to capture the mutated Matoran... to search for a possible cure... and mop-up any remaining Visorak."The Toa muttered a quick thanks, before running off into the village. Zerahk turned to his right were a veil of Darkness faded and the Toa who was now his mentor appeared, as if from no where."I was wondering were you disappeared to," said Zerahk bluntly."Sorry, but if that Toa knew I was alive... I'd end up worse than..." The Toa shivered at the thought. "Forget it," he simply said.Zerahk stared at the Toa of Darkness before nodding. "As you wish.""Hmm... Call on Roakah and Komodro, it’s time to leave," he said plainly, before once more vanishing into the shadows.

* * *

Ferxes struggled to get to the surface of the Energized Protodermis. The pain was unbearable, like a thousand burning daggers piercing every part of his body. The pain seemed to expand out of his body then abruptly ceased. He tried to grab on to the edge of the pool, but recoiled in horror. His hands were now large, blade-like appendages.He managed to finally get his head above the surface, where Roakah offered him the edge of his hammer. Ferxes held it in his mouth and Roakah pulled him onto dry land, careful not to touch any of the substance himself. Ferxes was surprised to find he was now as tall as his rescuer, and he noticed that Veekah, the Le-Matoran, was cowering behind the Toa of Stone."Is it that bad?" he sighed. His voice now had a Rahi-like growl to it.Roakah managed a weak smile. "Come on Ferxes, you were always ugly, just slap a mask on, and no one will know the difference."Ferxes looked into the pool at his own reflection. He did not see any trace of the Matoran he once was. He was now a monster; tall, thickly-armoured, and slightly hunched, with his hands, and a newly formed tail, all ending in blades, while his feet ended in large, vicious-looking claws. He could not see any hint of the mask he once wore either, all that remained was a raptor-like face. Anger overcame him and he roared. It was both a terrible sight and sound to behold."I’m sorry Ferxes, but Turaga Artok was right. You did have visions of the future..." Roakah started to open the door, to the delighted sounds of a group of Visorak. "And I don’t need a Suletu to know you want revenge..."Ferxes cut him off by roaring again as he rushed out the cave into the midst of the horde.

* * *

Flengu watched as two Rahkshi carried away a struggling Matoran Hordika who kept screaming at the Toa of Air to help him and not to let the Rahkshi take him away."I’m sorry, but the Brotherhood of Makuta will help you," he said with a smile, trying to reassure the villager who kept screaming at him.Flengu looked away and carried on through the village, moving closer to the fortified cave network that the surviving Matoran had hidden in. He stopped every so often to pay his respects to the fallen Matoran he passed, until he heard a roar from some kind of Rahi, followed by the sounds of battle. The Toa of Air sprinted down the street towards the source, only stopping when he came within sight of a massive raptor-like Rahi that was slaughtering a large group or Visorak. When the beast had killed the last spider, it looked up at him with an expression of sadness. Then it screeched, before suddenly charging towards him.It covered the vast distance in a relatively short time and Flengu braced himself before swinging his axe at his opponent. But the creature ducked and tackled him to the ground and then tried to rip his mask off with its’ teeth. Flengu kicked out and beast groaned in pain before rolling off of him. The two combatants recovered in lightning-quick speed before attacking one another again.Flengu struggled to block the bladed arms of the Rahi and it soon realized this. Bringing its’ tail up and knocking his Tornado Axe out of his hand, the creature then slashed one of its’ arms down upon him and cut a deep gash into his mask, just missing his right eye, coming mere inches from blinding him. Flengu dove for his axe as he saw the creature preparing for yet another attack. Grabbing hold of it, he looked towards the still-open door of the cave and teleported therein, right into a Toa of Stone."Umm... seen a big Raptor Rahi anywhere?" the Toa asked.Flengu frowned at him, confused, before replying. "Yeah, just down the street."The Toa of Stone looked at Flengu's injuries, smiled broadly, and ran off. Flengu watched him go and then turned to the small Le-Matoran staring at him."I’ll be back soon," he muttered, before setting off after the Toa of Stone and the Rahi.

* * *

Zerahk watched as Komodro showed off a beautiful golden sword to the Toa of Darkness. He found it hard to believe that this entire village had been devastated over the artefact, but Komodro assured him that the "Farcron Sword" was extremely powerful and would help the Shadows of the Sword dominate the Matoran Universe. Zerahk didn’t really care, the Rakile known as Farcron was a friend of his before his tragic death. He decided he would not allow his late friend’s powerful weapons and armour be used for evil, but just when Zerahk was about to say something, the Toa of Stone, Roakah dropped down on to the boat’s deck next to him with a large Rahi whom he introduced as Ferxes."So, where next?" asked Roakah cheerfully."Back to Hytrax to be debriefed by Tamek and then maybe you can accompany me on my mission to Ceronox Nui..." Komodro said rather proudly.

* * *

Flengu watched from the shadows, horrified. He always suspected that Tamek had survived their fight after finding a cryptic message instead of a body, but this confirmed it. Not only that, one of his greatest friends, Komodro, who was truly honourable, and despised evil, was now in league with Tamek. But worst of all, was the Toa of Darkness standing on the deck of the boat beside them. His former team mate Luwaro was somehow alive after being kicked off a cliff side.He wondered how many more of his former comrades were alive and if they had all become evil like Tamek? Flengu was now determined to find out, and stop them, at all costs...Review

Zåhåku awoke with a start. He glanced over to his window and noticed that morning was already beginning to arrive over Kemet Nui. He sat up on his bed slowly, rubbing his mask and looked around his small home. Furniture and other items littered the floor. He noticed that a cage in the far corner had been left open and whatever Rahi he had been attempting to tame had gotten loose, knocking pretty much all of his belongings over before letting itself out. Great, he thought. I have been spending far too much time working...Sighing, he scratched at bit of dirt on his armour before he sleepily stood up. After giving up on trying to clean up quickly, he rummaged about for his utility belt, and then retrieved his taming whip from a hook on the wall. He secured the belt around his waist, before sheathing the whip. He took one last look around the room before making his way out into misty village.Once outside, Zåhåku began to make his way to the main road through Tai-Koro, only to stop a few steps from his home. The sounds of panicking and terrified Matoran rushed to his audioreceptors and he instantly snapped out of his tired state. He reached for his whip, in spite of knowing it wouldn’t make much of a difference against something that had the whole village in an uproar, and ran out into the open. Whatever bravery he felt seconds before instantly disappeared when his photoreceptors met his worst fear.Zåhåku always remembered the chills he got when he heard Turaga Atemu's tales of the Beţshu, and now, with one of the vicious troglodytes, a Sebåu to be precise, advancing on him, Zåhåku completely froze with fear..."The River Hāpi!" someone called out over all the noise.Zåhåku looked down the road, but he couldn’t see who had shouted, though he already knew it was his friend and co-worker Kohilå.Realizing he couldn’t just stand there, he prepared to make a run past the sneering creature as an Onu-Matoran tumbled from a dwelling in front of the Sebåu, distracting it. Zåhåku rushed forward, spearing the surprised troglodyte to the ground with his shoulder and punching it in the face before sprinting down the road.Looking over his shoulder, he saw the furious Sebåu giving chase, so Zåhåku ducked into "The Rahi Stop", a small shop he co-owned with Kohilå where Matoran could adopt Rahi as pets, and closed the door behind him.Breathing heavily, he glanced around the shop and realized that Kohilå had released all the Rahi. Zåhåku smiled. Kohilå might act like it was just a job to him, but he quite obviously cared deeply. He also noticed a knife lying on the counter...Kohilå must have left that! I have to-Zåhåku heard banging against the door as the Sebåu tried to smash it open, he vaulted over the counter, grabbed the silver blade before taking cover as the door broke off its’ hinges and landed on the floor with a loud bang. He unsheathed his whip, as two Sebåu rushed into the shop and headed towards the back room past the counter.Zåhåku struck the first strange creature’s leg with his whip as it passed, tripping it. He then leapt from his hiding place and plunged the blade deep into the soft part of the carapace where the chest met the neck. It fell back lifeless as Zåhåku moved to stand over the first Sebåu, still struggling to get back up. He closed his eyes and brought the blade down upon it in a similar fashion. The Sebåu shrieked and writhed in pain, but then went still.Zåhåku sat for a moment, finally taking in what had just happened. He gathered his weapons and watched from the doorframe of shop. Matoran everywhere were being harassed by the Sebåu. Zåhåku noticed that several Sāmiu were in amongst the chaos and thought he even saw a lone Nåk in the distance. Mata Nui save us all, thought Zåhåku, before forcing the scene from his mind and running out of the village, towards the River Hāpi.When the water was in sight, Zåhåku slowed his pace and began to look around. He was surprised that he had even made it this far. He caught sight of Kohilå with a Ga-Matoran that he recognized as Horgah up ahead. Zåhåku started to make his way towards them, a grin spreading across his mask, though it vanished almost instantly.A snarling Sāmiu charged towards the pair impossibly fast and lunged at Horgah. Zåhåku was already sprinting towards them as she let out a scream. Kohilå had looked behind him only to trip over a root as the Sāmiu began to claw out the poor Ga-Matoran's photoreceptor. Zåhåku reached for his dagger as Kohilå got back up to his feet and began running at the Sāmiu while yelling in rage. The Sāmiu looked up at Kohilå as he reached for a weapon that wasn’t there. The creature sensed his surprise and leapt off of Horgah towards the fumbling Kur-Matoran.Oh no! Zåhåku thought as he watched Kohilå lift his arms to shield himself. He threw he knife at the Sāmiu and heard a faint whistle, then a howl, as it struck the troglodyte in the soft flesh just behind the breast plate. He walked towards the twitching Sāmiu as Kohilå let out a sigh of relief. Zåhåku then pulled the knife like a lever, before he yanked it completely out of the Sāmiu once its’ spasms had ceased, and walked over to Kohilå."You forgot your blade, didn’t you?" Zåhåku said, grinning as he held out the dagger.Kohilå chuckled as he accepted the blade. "Yeah, I seem to forget things when I have my life to worry about.""Yeah, well, you just about lost it," Zåhåku said, laughing. Then he glanced over at Horgah and thought, Why am I laughing?A cry from an incoming horde of Sebåu cut the pair’s reunion short. Zåhåku looked at Kohilå and they simultaneously said, "Run."The two Kur-Matoran began once more to make their way to the River Hāpi and their only hope of escaping alive.Review

"Thank you Nextrax!" the Turaga of Ice said. "How can we ever repay you?""You don’t," the Shaloxx said simply.The Artok frowned. "But the Matoran wish to repay your kindness for helping us rebuild the village of Nurane Nui..."Nextrax interrupted with a low growl before saying, "If the Matoran have any spare supplies, they may restock my ship... but I want something from you Artok. You never did tell me what exactly happened here."Artok smiled sadly. "Ah, yes. Rogue Brotherhood of Makuta forces attacked the village... there were many casualties but a Toa and a mutated Matoran held them off. Other than that I do not know much else. When we left the confines of the Fortress, Makuta Ferofax was pacing around demanding to know what happened on ‘his’ island. The Makuta then stormed off muttering something about another Makuta. A Toa of Air, Flengu, who arrived just after the main assault helped us rebuild until you joined us just as Flengu left on his new ‘adventure’.""I see... Where can I find this Ferofax?"

* * *

"Reaper" stepped out of the shadows as the Shaloxx's ship embarked from the island. He smiled darkly, for far too long had he watched Nextrax travel the universe acting like a common Toa. No longer though, he thought, today he will have a greater purpose in life. With a laugh, he shape-shifted into the form of a common flying Rahi and took off.

* * *

Nextrax stood in the cabin of The Invincible watching the radar system as he made his way to the island where Turaga Artok believed Ferofax had used as his base of operations. There was a crash and Nextrax fell to the deck of his ship before cursing. When he got up, he left the cabin and found he had crashed his ship on a small island with an intimidating-looking fortress upon it. The Shaloxx frowned before returning to his cabin and checking his navigation systems. What? There shouldn’t be an island here! he thought. Grabbing his quiver of Elemental Arrows, Bow, and his Battle Axe from his personal armoury, he jumped down on to the beach.Nextrax examined The Invincible and found a gaping hole that was smoking from some kind of energy discharge. Looking up towards the island he saw a figure in the distance wielding a massive scythe. The being then faded from sight.Nextrax turned back to his ship. "So much for being invincible, eh?" said the Shaloxx to himself, before punching another hole through the ProtoSteel hull. "Lets go find that mean, old, scythe-wielding warrior... and make him pay," he muttered before heading towards the fortress.As he drew close, the Shaloxx realised the amount of broken Rahkshi parts scattered around the fortress with the same smoke from the hole on his ship billowing from the remains. Someone has been busy...He reached the massive ProtoSteel doors and found them sealed shut. Grabbing the handles, Nextrax applied all the strength he possessed, and eventually ripped the doors from their hinges. Satisfied with the result, Nextrax stepped through and found himself in total darkness, it even looked pitch black outside. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the sudden change and he realised that he was in a long hallway.Sighing he started to make his way along it, with his battle axe slung over his shoulder, ready for any attack when he heard a hideous laugh come from the right, down a second hallway. Readying his axe, Nextrax crept towards the sound before stopping short when he began to hear voices."... Venetox... Imago... Ornatus... Halbent, and the others, where are they?" croaked the being who Nextrax assumed was laughing earlier."Ha, and betray my brothers? Don’t even try to read my mind, Ferofax taught me well," this second being chuckled before saying, "Go to blazes."There was a grunt of pain, and then first being asked, "Gravis, do you really want to die painfully? Like a whimpering Rahi that needs to be put down? Or would you rather die fighting alongside your brothers against me?""That is a tempting choice there, Steeliroc... but I quite like the first option," Gravis said.Nextrax had sneaked to an open door. Peering inside, the Shaloxx saw a Toa wearing black and red armour lying on a table restrained by four Rahkshi, while the being, whom Nextrax presumed was Steeliroc, stood over him."Now, now Gravis. Tell me where the other Shadow Warriors are and, I will let you live, I will let you rule!" Steeliroc croaked, a hint of hope in his voice.Gravis laughed loudly. "You change your tactics so quickly. I will say this once more, ‘No!’"Steeliroc sighed before saying, "As you wish..."He raised one of his hands as they shape-shifted into intimidating looking claws.Nextrax sheathed his axe, unsheathed his bow, and took four red arrows from his quiver. He loaded all four of them at the same time, and as he entered the room, Gravis activated his Kanohi Ruru, shining intense light into the Makuta's face. As Steeliroc staggered back, Nextrax loosed the arrows, which then impaled each of the Rahkshi against the wall, incinerating them.Gravis leapt from the table, drop kicking the Makuta towards Nextrax. Dropping the bow, the Shaloxx raised his axe and brought it down on Steeliroc. The blade of the weapon shattered on contact with the ProtoSteel armour. Gravis cursed before sprinting from the room as the Makuta grinned wickedly, righting himself. Nextrax threw two punches into Steeliroc, leaving to large dents on his chest, and followed up with a kick to his mask. Then the room plunged into darkness and Nextrax could only see blackness. He heard a noise behind him and spun around just in time to see the Kanohi Tryna belonging to Steeliroc.

* * *

"Reaper" watched as a Toa ran from the fortress, towards a hidden dock where a small ship was waiting, while being pursued by Makuta Steeliroc. As he walked towards the fortress he threw an energy bolt at Steeliroc who immediately turned and began searching for his attacker. Laughing, he entered the fortress and made his way towards the screams of Nextrax."My, my, what’s this? Been in a little scrap have we?" He grinned at the Shaloxx who was horrifically injured, one of his photoreceptors clawed out, and screaming for help.

* * *

Daxia, 9,998 years before the Great Cataclysm:

"Hello Nextrax, wake up."Nextrax opened his photoreceptor and looked around, a tall green and gold armoured being looked down on him and grinned."You got hurt pretty badly back there my friend," he said.Nextrax groaned before asking, "Where am I?""Not important, but I have been watching you for a while. Defending those who can’t defend themselves, helping those who no one else would help... like a common Toa," he spat. "You took on a Makuta when you had no hope of winning, just to help a Toa, and you have no idea what he even is! Now, I have a proposition for you, which I'm almost certain you will accept," he finished, as he grinned again.Review

Narmok shielded his face as the light hit him, his photoreceptors being too used to the darkness of the shipping container. A tall being stood at the door holding a small set of black armour, he smiled at Narmok before entering and setting down the armour. Narmok adjusted to the light and saw that the being was a Treyon, the captain of the vessel.“End of the line Matoran, we have arrived. Thank the Great Spirit that the guards are too trusting to believe that the ship is already getting searched. That armour should fool them into thinking you are part of their little mercenary group, we have seen to that, and your weapons are in the crate closest to the door.” The Treyon said.“Thank you.” Responded Narmok curtly “Although I have to ask why you are helping me?”“Well, you are a single Matoran. You wouldn’t stand much of a chance against these mercs if you were here to fight them… No offence of course, I am sure you are skilled. And you clearly are not here to sign up or you wouldn’t be hiding. So you are here to kill Lehn, and a shake up in leadership would be beneficial to us. We will also leave a life boat at the prearranged location if you are able to escape.”“Thank you again.” Said the Matoran of Ice as he placed the black armour over his own and put on the helmet before he retrieved his dual knives and his custom sniper rifle.“Any time…” The Treyon nodded and stared approvingly at the double barrelled rifle.As Narmok left the trade ship, he found two other Matoran waiting for him clad in the armour of the Black Suns while a large group of other matoran hung back.“Have you already searched the ship?” Asked the Matoran of Iron, Narmok merely nodded in reply. “Nice work, you show some initiative… and you keep your mouth shut which will serve you well around here.” The Le-Matoran looked like he was going to protest but the Fe-Matoran continued. “Although I don’t think we have been properly introduced Eero, I am Meterax, the captain of all the Matoran here.”Meterax then turned and began to walk away from the dock to join his team, Narmok couldn’t believe his luck and was about to follow when the other Matoran, the Le-Matoran stopped him. “You got a new rifle when you were away? I like it… How was your first mission anyway? I didn’t see you come back in. Oh, and I got that sidearm you were after, a modified Hytrax Blaster, had to tell those Vortixx that Lehn would be having words with them if they didn’t hand one over…”He tossed a large sidearm towards him and before Narmok could even reply, the Le-Matoran put a hand to his headset and then pointed towards where Meterax was waiting.“We’re being summoned.” He said with a grin.Narmok nodded and the Le-Matoran turned to look at the crew of the trade ship placing their cargo on the dock before gesturing Narmok to follow him. Narmok figured that this Eero was fairly new, wasn’t a big talker, a squad sniper and was not currently on the island. It was almost as if Mata Nui himself was working in Narmok’s favour to allow him to accomplish his mission. He stopped himself before he laughed at the idea and continued towards to where Meterax was waiting. As they drew near, the Matoran of Iron raised his large multi-barrelled weapon. Narmok’s mind began to race, thinking he had been caught out.“I just lost radio contact with the base… and the last transmission I got was a scream. We are going to meet up with Alpha Squad and then return to the base. And not a single word from now on.” He added menacingly to the Le-Matoran who merely loaded his Type 3 Energy Shotgun in reply.As they sprinted along the path, leaving only two other Matoran to guard the cargo, they were met with a small group of heavily armed and armoured Toa. The commander, a Toa of Ice, barked commands and his squad followed behind with their weapons at the ready. Littered across the courtyard were the unconscious bodies of various members of the Black Suns and standing in the midst of the barely stirring mercenaries was a dragon-like Rahi. The black and golden creature slowly turned its head towards the new arrivals that were already in positions, ready to fire. Narmok’s green photoreceptors met the beast’s yellow.‘You might want to act along with this.’ A voice suggested in his mind, before it was finished, the Matoran team began drop to the ground clutching their masks and screaming in agony before falling unconscious. Narmok did as he was told and mimicked the Black Suns Mercenaries. The Dragon then faced the Toa and spoke in a low growl.“Ah, Toa… perhaps you will finally offer a challenge?” It cocked its head as it asked.The commanding Toa motioned to his team and shouted “Open fire!”The beast wrapped its wings around itself in attempt to protect itself from the deadly barrage of elemental blasts and weapon fire. Narmok attempted to see what was going on but the dragon had completely disappeared from view behind the attacks. When the Toa of Ice finally called a ceasefire, Narmok stared in disbelief as it emerged unscathed from the smoke. The Toa however were unfazed by this and charged towards the beast with their weapons at the ready and the creature met them head on. Narmok put his mask to the ground when one of the Toa stopped by him to reload a sidearm and kept it down for fear of being caught out. His heartlight flashed furiously as he listened breathlessly to the roars, shouts and clashing of claws against blades and refused to look up even when it was all over.“Get up Assassin.” A voice growled. Narmok looked up to see the dark armoured Rahi standing above him. “You think I am a mere beast? I am deeply offended by your thoughts…” It held out a helping hand which Narmok did not take. The dragon chuckled. “I see, do not fear ‘Death’ little Matoran for I am patient and merciful. Now run along, I can’t have you killing Lehn.”“Suppose I don’t have much choice in the matter do I now?” Narmok looked around at the unconscious beings surrounding him before continuing “I appreciate that you stopped peering into my mind bec-“He never finished his sentence because ‘Death’ grabbed him and wrapped his wings around them both as an energy weapon was fired. Narmok was then thrown to the ground as the Dragon turned to face this new threat. A Toa of Air wearing black armour stood a small distance away holding a Type 3 Energy Shotgun. ‘Death’ wrapped his wings around him like a cloak and waited. The Toa lowered the Energy Shotgun slightly and then removed his helmet, revealing his Kanohi Hulkan.“What do you want?” He asked cautiously. “Excellent, all I wanted was a little talk with you which as you can see, none of your unconscious mercenaries believed. And it is very difficult keeping them that way.” He grinned.Lehn stared at ‘Death’ for a few moments before saying “You wished to talk, well talk.”“Good. Tell ‘The Sword’ that Zerahk’s brothers want him sent home. Failure to comply with our wishes and we will expose your organisation’s existence to the Universe.” And when he was finished, the Dragon took to the skies and began to fly away.Lehn then realised that Narmok was standing there, cursed when he realised that he had overheard the entire conversation and raised his weapon but Narmok was faster. He fired his Sniper Rifle and hit Lehn in the leg and sprinted towards the row of Helsrak T12 attack vehicles as he toppled over. Narmok climbed into the cockpit of the nearest vehicle just as the first Black Suns began to wake up and began making his escape.Review